by Doug Harvey

Background content from CEP 52-16 Port Stanley Harbour Secondary Plan

The Municipality of Central Elgin Official Plan contains policies specific to the
Port Stanley Harbour in Subsection 4.6.6.4. At the time of the preparation of the
Official Plan, the Municipality was in the middle of preparing its Harbour Vision
and Economic Development Strategy. These exercises helped to establish the Municipality's
vision for the future of the harbour lands. The policies found in Subsection 4.6.6.4
were therefore left fairly general in nature pending the completion of these exercises.
It was recognized at the time that further, more detailed policies would be required
to implement the vision and economic development strategy. Paragraph 4.6.6.4(e).
of the Official Plan states:

"The Municipality shall prepare a comprehensive secondary land use plan encompassing
the Greater Harbour Area as shown on Schedule G3 to include Port Stanley Harbour,
Adjacent Harbour Lands, the Main Street/Bridge Street Adjacent Lands and the Maud
and Bessie area. The secondary plan will lay out the long-term plan for the re-purposing
of the Port Stanley Harbour lands and their planned integration with the adjacent
waterfront areas in Port Stanley."

1.3 Scope of Secondary Plan

The Port Stanley Harbour Area Secondary Plan (hereafter referred to as "the Secondary
Plan") is expected to result in a mix of land use designations aimed at achieving
the Municipality's vision for the harbour, with the main issues to be addressed
as follows:

identifying a "community vision" and key place-making principles for the overall
area;

Assessment of natural heritage/environmental review features to determine their
need for preservation, protection or opportunities for integration into the overall
community concept;

Identification of servicing (sanitary, water, stormwater management) requirements,
opportunities and constraints and the best means of providing those services;

identification and assessment of transportation requirements, alternatives and impacts,
road patterns, parking needs and opportunities for active transportation; Determination
of parkland and community facility needs and appropriate locations;

Preparation of land use concepts that illustrate alternative means of providing
a range of economic development choices/opportunities and associated uses that are
fiscally sustainable and that best address the natural heritage, servicing and transportation
opportunities/impacts identified;

Establish a framework for future development which identifies a community focus,
key place—making principles and elements;

Consideration of compatibility and interface issues with existing development to
the east, west and north;

Preparation of a Community Improvement Plan for the Harbour Area that focuses on
financial incentives to encourage and facilitate development in accordance with
the recommendations of the Secondary Plan

identification at a gross level of detail the financial impact of development on
the Development Charges and the Municipality's Capital Works Program based on proposed
timing and phasing of development;

Consultation and communication with key stakeholders/agencies will continue to be
important.

Background content from Actions of Council at the June 20th, 2016 meeting on this
Motion.

CEP 52-16 Port Stanley Harbour Secondary Plan - Moved by Harold Winkworth and seconded
by Sally Martyn that Report CEP.52.16 be received as information; that Council receive
the draft final Term of Reference for the proposed Secondary Plan for the Port Stanley
Harbour; that Council authorize staff to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) based
on the final Terms of Reference; and that Council authorize staff to seek nominations
for representation from the Port Stanley BIA, one representative, Heritage Central
Elgin, one representative, and the general public on the project steering committee,
and that Council appoint the following two members of Council to sit on the steering
committee, Dan McNeil and Steven Carr.

Dan McNeil commented that he was very pleased to see that they were getting on with
this, and this is the right thing to do. I would just mention that perhaps one of
the citizens at large should be identified as somebody nominated by the village
association, they certainly have a lot of qualified people to look at the respective
development...... I don't think that we have to formally do it in a resolution,
but I think that when we look at citizens at large we should talk to the village
association. The Motion was Carried.

Editorial starts here.

After putting all this information together, I realized that it would seem that
this plan already exists, the decisions on the directions which will be followed
have already been cast in stone, and this is a formality taken to create an illusion to
make it seem, like we have a say in what will go on, in, and around our Harbour. The
idea of which direction any public input might take, is a given, considering all the issues
presented in the "Scope of Secondary Plan".

The Actions of Council further reinforce this point of view, with the comments from
Councillor Dan McNeil, "I would just mention that perhaps one of the citizens at
large should be identified as somebody nominated by the village association, they
certainly have a lot of qualified people to look at the respective development......
I don't think that we have to formally do it in a resolution, but I think that when
we look at citizens at large we should talk to the village association."

This Port Stanley Harbour Secondary Plan should be a big step that everyone, together
has a chance to participate in, and the direction followed, be one that no special interest
group alone designs, and let us not forget that:

"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from
the Earth." Abraham Lincoln